Dreams Are More Precious
by Caelhir
Summary: After a disastrous post-earthquake visit to a human village, Legolas wakes up in a strange place, surrounded by strangers, without any idea where he is or why he's there.
1. A Visit to Rivertown

Oaky, sorry if you got two notices about this story, I had to delete it as it wasn't quite ready for publishing. It would appear that I accidentally erased some of it, and on top of that, I forgot an author's note! How could I do such a thing?

Oh, and this story won't interfere with _Someone Said Goodbye _at all, because I've already got most of this one written, so that's that! I am actually having a lot of fun, and this being my break week from school, you will be able to expect another chapter of _One by One,_ for those of you who are following that funny little tale! Oh, poor Glorfindel won't be... _right..._ when he gets out of this experience! Thanks to those of you who are keeping up with my pyscho story updating! I appreciate it immensely.

JaydeRayne: you can breathe again!

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**Dreams Are More Precious**

_by Caelhir_

_Chapter One_

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The sun rose merrily over a little village nestled cozily in the crook of the valley. A river ran through the middle of it, giving the town its name, Rivertown, as well as its water source. Small, neat houses lined the streets, and further away, on the sides of the valley's hills, were farms and more dwellings, marking the town to bigger than what was revealed at a casual glance.

People were just beginning to move about as the sun rose above the peak of the valley, getting shop set up, opening doors, shaking out rugs, and various morning activities. Children burst out of their houses, freed from the breakfast table to pursue their friends in activities of their leisure. Several grouped together and ran to the small caves that dotted the hillside for some early morning spelunking. Farmers and their plow horses worked in their fields, and dogs barked happily.

It seemed a perfect morning, yet not out of the ordinary. Life in Rivertown was peaceful and slow, and this hardly seemed the morning for anything to go wrong, so when the ground began rumble and shake, the townsfolk were unsure of what to do.

Then, as the ground groaned and trembled more furiously, people began to shout and call their families to them, running for safety in the door frames of their houses. Mothers called for their children, and husbands called for their wives. Panic swept the village as terrified parents shouted their children's names as they were pulled to safety by frantic neighbors and friends.

The earth's shaking went on for what seemed to the townspeople to be hours until it finally became less and less often that the buildings shook and the ground trembled. Finally, the people ventured out warily from under their shelters, jumping when the ground vibrated in the after shock of the quake.

Families began to count each other to make sure of their complete members. Friends and neighbors embraced and smiled until a screams split the air.

"_Matilda! George! My babies, where are my babies?"_

Hannah, the town's healer, was screaming and crying hysterically as she wildly looked all around for her missing children. Her husband Matthew began to run from one group of people to the next, looking for his son and daughter. Another woman began to cry as she realized her children, Beth and Will, were missing, too. It was soon after found that Pete and MAry, two more children were missing as well, making six the final total of absent children. The townspeople began to talk amongst themselves. Where would the children be?

Finally, one boy, who was, in fact, not much younger than the group of missing children, spoke up.

"I saw 'em!"

The people around him turned to him and hurriedly shushed the others around them, waiting for him to speak again.

"I saw 'em, I did! They were going up to the caves up there–" he pointed at the hillside, "–to go 'xplorin', but they din't let me go wif 'em!" His young face broke into a pout at being left behind.

The adult around him instantly began to make plans for the missing children's rescue. If they were in the caves, they would be found.

_/\/\/\/\_

Legolas looked out from under the tree that had crashed down onto his shelter during the earthquake, scanning the area that he could see for his four companions.

Elrohir was pulling Elladan out of a ditch on the side of the road, and Lindir was rubbing the back of his head, looking irritated. Glorfindel was nowhere to be seen. Legolas sighed and tried to shift the tree, but failed. Calling out to Lindir, who trotted over, the two of them managed to move the offending tree enough to create a space for Legolas to wriggle out of.

As soon as he was freed, Legolas thanked Lindir, and the two strode over to where the twins were still struggling with the ditch. It seemed that Glorfindel had fallen into the ditch as well, and Elladan had fallen atop him. Elrohir had fished Elladan out of the ditch , and the twins were just now pulling a very muddy Glorfindel to the road.

"Well," said Legolas brightly, tending briefly to a scratch on his arm and beaming at the dripping Glorfindel, "now that we're all present and accounted for, shall we continue?"

The five had been on a scouting mission, very simple, just to check up on a few of the surrounding towns and their inhabitants when the earthquake had hit, disrupting their travel path. Elrohir nodded in agreement and the five gathered their scattered possessions and headed the way they had been intending.

This village coming up, Rivertown, was their second to last stop before heading back to Imladris, Legolas thought, ticking off his mental list of visited villages. He normally didn't take part in Rivendell's patrols, but Elrohir and Elladan had invited him, and as he was here during his brief holiday from his own patrols in Greenwood, he had decided to join them. After all, this _was _Imladris, and so was fortified from most evil doers and misfortunes. However, Elrond had still given himself, Lindir, Elrohir and Elladan the usual "don't-get-hurt-don't-die-and-don't-get-into-trouble" speech as he always did. Clearly Elrond did not trust this particular group of elves to keep their noses clean for long!

It was a simple ten minute ride to Rivertown from where they had taken cover from the earthquake, and they drew nearer, laughing and joking. Legolas began to regale them with the latest of his attempts to drive the older prince insane.

"–And then the idiot runs around the corner," he was saying, "with nothing on at all but a curtain around his waist, yelling at the top of his lungs–" and here he pitched his voice high and fearful, causing Lindir and Elladan to howl with mirth, while Glorfindel wiped tears of laughter from his eyes and Elrohir snickered, "–started screaming like a child, 'Dear Valar, help! There's snakes everywhere! Help! Help!' And then, if you'll believe this, he actually went running straight through my father's _council meeting!"_

At this point, all of Legolas' companions were weak-kneed with laughter, and he himself had a difficult time not to collapse laughing at the memory of the nearly-naked Thoronsul scampering out of the room full of his seniors, his face the same color as an apple.

They five elves quieted down when they crested a valley and looked down upon a serene sight.

The town was spread perfectly upon the banks of a river that ran through the valley. The outlying farms added to the simplicity and beauty of the place. The five companions met eyes, still hiccuping every once in a while with laughter, and headed into the valley. Elrohir looked fondly at the town as they approached.

"Looks like a sleepy little place. A perfect place for a lazy couple of days, don't you think?"

However, as they drew closer, their sharp ears caught the sounds of distress, and meeting eyes again, they urged their horses onwards and their eyes soon found the source of the distress.

A large group of people stood in the town square, seeming to be gathered around a smaller group of people. Legolas noticed that there were several people who appeared to be weeping. Approaching, the elves caught the tail end of what someone was saying loudly.

"–don't care if it is dangerous! It'll be even more dangerous for the kids!"

"But Barry," pleaded someone, "please, think of your own children, and your darling wife!"

"Excuse me," said Glorfindel, and all eyes were on the elves. Whispers cut through the suddenly silent air like fish through water, and several people craned their necks to see the elves. A man stepped forwards.

"Who're you lot?"

Glorfindel smiled reassuringly. "I am Glorfindel of Imladris, and with me is Lindir, Elrohir, Elladan, also of Imladris, and Legolas of the Woodland Realm. We are checking in on the villages around here, and wondered if we might be of service to you."

The humans muttered for a few moments before a woman with shiny black hair pulled into a braid stepped forwards and began to speak to the elves, ignoring the looks sent her way.

"Please help us," she begged plaintively. "My children, and Flora's and Gertrude's, they've all gone missing after that earthquake. Please, help us find them!"

Glorfindel turned to his companions, checking to make sure that they all right with this. Elrohir and Elladan were nodding vigorously, while Lindir and Legolas looked a little more reserved about throwing themselves into danger for men. Lindir leaned over to Legolas and spoke quietly in his ear.

"It's children. No matter what race, children are children, I suppose. For a short time, let us lay our grievances with the race of men to rest."

The two light-haired elves nodded in agreement, looking back to Glorfindel and confirming their willingness to help. Glorfindel looked at the two younger elves and nodded, pride flashing in his eyes. He turned to the woman and smiled at her.

"We will help you find you children in any way we can, fear not."

The woman smiled at them, eyes watering. Two more woman stepped forward, a redhead and a blond woman, their eyes watering as well. This must have been Flora and Gertrude, Legolas presumed. He stepped up next to Glorfindel and asked where the children had last been seen.

"Up there," said the red-headed woman. "They love to go exploring in the caves. Harry said he saw them going up there early this morning."

The elves nodded and met each others eyes yet again. Elrohir raised an eyebrow.

"So much for 'sleepy little town,' eh?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Review, please!

And an interesting thing: I am still looking for that story I keep begging about, but now I'm doing something else. I'm actually going through the _entire_ Lord of the Rings Fanfiction Archive with the only filter set to "Legolas," of course! It's actually been quite fun, and I'm finding a lot of awesome stories! I recommend it sometime.

So that's all. Review, please!


	2. It's For the Children, After All

Hooray, chapter two!

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**Dreams Are More Precious**

_by Caelhir_

_Chapter Two_

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The elves accompanied a group of men up to the caves, and they split into five groups, one elf with each. These men were open and friendly, and made introductions readily. Legolas felt unease at being separated from his companions, but he rolled his shoulders back, shaking off the doubt. _Children, _he thought sternly. _This is for the children._

Lindir's group headed off to the topmost caves on the hill, and Elrohir's went with them, stopped a level of caves below. Elladan and Glorfindel followed their human guides to the caves on the left and right sides of the hill, which left the bottommost level for Legolas and his group. Without any further ado, the searchers got to work.

It was long work, painstakingly slow, and very delicate. Any of the caves might have been weakened in the earthquake, and the searchers had to be very careful when entering any of the caves.

Finally, just as the midday sun reached its highest point in the sky, Legolas stopped walking and listened intently to what he thought was a voice. The other men went silent as well, watching the elf close his eyes and lean his head towards the back of the cave.

"_Help! Help!"_

Legolas opened his eyes and looked around at the men.

"They're back there," he said simply, pointing at the back of the cave, before setting off that way himself. The men followed.

He called quietly as they got closer.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

Excited voices reached him through a seemingly unmovable pile of rocks.

"Yes! Yes! Help! We're trapped, and Petey hurt his leg!"

A man called Tomas pushed past Legolas to stand closer to the rock. "Petey? Petey, m'boy, can you hear me, son?"

A frightened voice was heard.

"Papa! Papa! Get me out, please! It's dark!"

The men around Legolas surged forwards and began to dig. One went to alert the others to the presences of the children. Legolas joined the men in their efforts to free the children. He had been trapped in dark places before. He knew how it felt, and he'd want to be released quickly as possible.

Half an hour later, the men finally broke through the pile of rocks, and they heard the children cheering. The hole was enlarged, and a small face poked through. One man, called Matthew, cried out.

"Georgie! Georgie, son, how are you? Is everyone there?"

George nodded.

"Yes, papa. We're all here. Will you get us out now?"

"Hold on, son," the man said. "Hold on."

The hole grew larger, and as soon as it was big enough, the children gathered at its entrance, desperate to get out. Just as the first was about the crawl through, an ominous rumble sounded from above them. The men looked up as one. Legolas recognized the sound. Quietly, as to not panic the children, he spoke to the men.

"The cave is collapsing. Grab the children and get out. Be safe and quick, I'll watch your backs." The men nodded gratefully and pulled their children from their dark prison. Once they were all six accounted for, the men, children and elf began to make their way back out. They kept their pace at a controlled walk, though it was clear then men desired nothing more than to sprint from the place. The place rumbled again, and a man called Nathan panicked. Grabbing his daughter, he scooped her into his arms and fled. The other children began to cry, and the men looked at the elf for help. Legolas spoke to the children.

"It's all right, you know. If we walk quietly, nothing can harm us. If the rumbling can't hear us, it can't hurt us. Let's be very quiet and careful, all right?"

Now that it was a contest to see who could be the quietest, the children seemed reassured. They tiptoed along and soon enough, the group found the mouth of the cave. As they emerged into the fresh air, Legolas saw Lindir's group standing thier waiting. Two men jumped forwards and grabbed their children, pulling them into hugs and holding them tightly. One men stepped forwards and looked among the children anxiously.

"Where's Will?" he said worriedly. "Wasn't he there?"

One boy, the one called Petey, answered him. "He was with us. Didn't he follow us out?"

Legolas turned back to the cave in horror. He could still hear the earth shifting and groaning. Meeting Glorfindel's eyes, he grabbed Lindir's arm and the two headed back to the mouth of the cave. Glorfindel met them there.

"No, absolutely not."

Glorfindel, please," Legolas spoke quietly. "There's still a child in there. He's alone, and he could die."

The serous tone in which Glorfindel spoke left the two other elves in no doubt that the older elf was unwilling to let them go into the cave. "If you can't find the child, come straight back out, understand? No lingering, no poking about."

Lindir nodded, and the two ran back into the cave, their fleet feet making no imprint on the ground.

"Where were the children?" Lindir asked quietly, wincing when his voice echoed nonetheless.

"Back here," said Legolas, leading his friend into the small pocket where the children had been. Sure enough, curled in the corner was a small brown-haired boy, curled and whimpering in fear. Legolas knelt next to him.

"Will?" he asked softly. The boy looked up at him, one big blue eye peeking out from his arms.

"That's me. Will you take me out of here?"

Legolas smiled. "Lindir and I are here to rescue you. Have no fear." Lindir stepped forwards and gathered the boy into his arms. The ground above them creaked, and a chunk of the ceiling fell to the ground where Will had been just a moment before.

Not a moment too soon, Lindir stood and turned to leave the small space, Legolas on his heels. Their situation was getting more and more dangerous by the minute, and they needed to get out as soon as possible.

The ground rumbled more furiously, and Will began to wail with terror, squirming in Lindir's arms so furiously that he was forced to set the boy down.

"Will," said Lindir, masking the mounting panic he felt, "please cooperate. We need to get out of–"

Before the Imladrin warrior could finish his sentence, there came a grinding, crunching noise and larger chucks of the ceiling began to fall around them. The boy screamed in fright and rocketed away down the passage to the outside light. The elves met eyes and followed, their progress hampered by their height. Will was much smaller than they were, and was more easily able to avoid the falling rocks. Legolas and Lindir, both very tall, were having difficulties.

Without warning, the noise around them increased, and far in front of them, they could see a veritable wall of rock cascading down upon the tunnel.

Legolas shouted to Lindir, "Faster!" but the encouragement wasn't really necessary. Both elves were sprinting as fast as they could. Lindir pulled ahead of Legolas slightly and they were nearly there when Legolas felt a shiver of foreboding hit him. He slowed slightly, then realized what he was doing. He raced on.

Rocks were sailing past them, flying form the walls and the ceiling now. They needed to get out. This was too dangerous. Legolas prayed that Will had made it out all right.

And then, just as the two elves rounded the last corner and saw the light of the outside world far ahead of them, the tunnel began to literally fall apart. Lindir looked back and called out a warning to Legolas but it was too late. A rock slammed into Legolas' head, and he heard Lindir calling as if from very far away. Then he knew no more, and darkness claimed him.


	3. A Nasty Head Wound, Of Course

Hey, I'm glad that this is going down as well as it is! Thanks to **JaydeRayne, Leo-firefly, and daisymall13** for reviewing, and thanks to all of you who have added this to your alerts and favorites!

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**Dreams Are More Precious**

_by Caelhir_

_Chapter Three_

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Lindir called out to Legolas as the chunk of rock slammed into his friend's head. He came to a halt, and sprinted back to where his friend lay, immobile on the tunnel floor. Lindir picked up Legolas and threw him over his shoulder. Turning again, he ran for all he was worth and just as the tunnel finally caved, dove outside, landing in an untidy mess at Glorfindel's feet.

The older elf hauled him to his feet.

"What," he growled, "did you think you were doing? You could have been– Hey!"

For Lindir had wriggled out of Glorfindel's grasp and had dropped to his knees next to Legolas, who lay silent and still on the ground where Lindir had let go of him. Lindir shook his friend gently.

"Legolas?" There was no answer from the elf. Glorfindel dropped to his knees next to Lindir as Elrohir and Elladan came back from returning the children to their families. With identical cries of shock, they moved closer.

Glorfindel took note of Legolas' slack expression and closed eyes. He tilted the elf's head this way and that, looking for the source of the blood that stained the elf's golden hair. A cry from Lindir, as well as his reddening fingertips, told him he had found it, an inch-long gash just behind Legolas' left ear. Glorfindel looked up at the twins.

"We must return to Rivendell right now. There is no time to lose."

The twins and Lindir nodded, and the elves stood. The group of men backed away, giving the elves the space to pick up their prone friend.

As they neared the village, a woman rushed forward.

"Thank you, thank y– What happened?" Other women had stepped forwards as well, eyes alighting on Legolas' still and bloodied form in Glorfindel's arms. Glorfindel reassured them.

"He was struck as he left the cave. He will be all right, but we must return to Rivendell with haste."

The women nodded and sharing looks, the vanished abruptly. The elves made their way to where they had left their mounts. Lindir held onto Legolas as Glorfindel swung atop his horse, then handed the unconscious elf to the other. The elves made to ride away, but at that moment, a large group of children came running forth, carrying an assortment of baskets and bags in their hands. They pressed them upon the elves, saying that they were from their mothers in gratitude for saving their lives. Will, the boy Lindir and Legolas had gone back to rescue, looked shyly at Lindir before murmuring a hasty "thank you" and disappearing again.

With that, the elves took off back towards Rivendell, their flight aided by fear for their friend.

_/\/\/\/\_

It was a two day ride from Rivertown to Rivendell, and Legolas did not wake at all in that time. Glorfindel masked his deep fear for the prince and when they finally got to Imladris, he took Legolas straight to Elrond's Healing Wing, leaving the twins and Lindir to care for his mount.

Once he deposited Legolas on a bed, Glorfindel went straight to find Elrond. Leaving the Healing Halls, he broke into a run that soon turned into a flat out sprint, terrible fear for Legolas fueling his travel-weary limbs.

He burst into Elrond's study without knocking, and Erestor, who was sitting inside, let out a cry and his glass of wine went flying. Elrond ducked, and the glass flew out the window. Elrond looked at Glorfindel with a faintly irritated expression on his face.

"Yes, Glorfindel? If it's the twins putting sneezing powder in the flour again–"

"No, my lord," Glorfindel tried to calm his racing heart, "it's not the twins, it's Legolas. We were on our patrol and there was a cave-in, and he got hit–"

Elrond stood, silencing Glorfindel's hurried, panicky explanation with a single raised hand.

"Lead the way," he said firmly.

Glorfindel nodded gratefully and turned to leave the room. He and Elrond disappeared down the hall, and Erestor slumped into his seat, running a hand across his face in exasperation.

"When, I ask, _when_ will I ever have another peaceful moment?"

_/\/\/\/\_

Elrond approached the bed where Legolas lay with some trepidation. Head wounds were difficult and delicate to deal with, and after Glorfindel explained that Legolas hadn't woken for two days, Elrond's worry only increased.

Leaning over the prince, he could see where the wound was right away, even without Glorfindel's pointing hand. A wound about an inch long had been stitched shut. Elrohir had done the job, Elrond could tell. Elladan's stitches left much to desired, and Glorfindel's were not nearly as precise and neat as Lindir's. NO, this was Elrohir's work.

Elrond smiled grimly. Perhaps this was Elrohir's way of paying his friend back for a nasty incident that had occurred between the two of them many years ago.* Legolas had told Elrohir several times that there was no debt to be repaid, yet Elrohir had still felt honor-bound to do something for the prince. Perhaps the tending of this wound had provided the peace Elrohir sought. Sobering, he returned to examining the wound.

"Elrohir's work?" he confirmed with Glorfindel.

The other elf nodded. Elrond turned back to Legolas and lifted one of his eyelids, frowning at hat he found.

"He's heavily concussed, Glorfindel. Did you see what happened to him?"

Glorfindel shook his head.

"No, I was outside the cave when he and Lindir went in. Lindir was the one who–"

Any further remarks were cut off as the door burst open, causing both elves inside to jump and look round.

Lindir, Elrohir and Elladan stampeded through, their eyes scanning the room and finding Elrond and Glorfindel. They made a beeline for the bed where Legolas lay. Once there, the all began to speak at once.

"How is he, Ada, is he–"

"I took care of your horse, Glorfindel–"

"Has he woken–"

Elrond held up a hand, silencing the three frantic elves with a glare.

"He has not woken yet, and his wound is severe. I will need one of you to stay with him and alert me if he does awake. I have quite a bit of work to do, and there's nothing to be done for him right now but to make sure he's comfortable when he wakes. He's severely concussed, so speak quietly to him if he wakes– _when _he wakes," he amended, seeing the horrified looks on the faces of those gathered around him.

Elrond left the Healing Hall, knowing that there was really nothing to do until the elf awoke. He wished that Glorfindel and the others had not moved Legolas, for he knew that sometimes that caused more damage to the injured person, but what had been done, had been done. He sighed and went back to his study. He had quite a lot of work to do, after all.

Those remaining in the Healing Halls gathered around Legolas' bed in a vigil that would last through the next morning, when Elrond came in and shooed them into their chambers for "some rest– and baths, please!"

Elrond smiled as Glorfindel and Lindir left, followed by Elrohir and Elladan, who shot mutinous looks at their father as they shut the door behind them. Elrond turned back to his patient.

Legolas' breathing had changed. Instead of the deep, slow breathing of his previous unconsciousness, he now took shorter, shallow breaths. It was clear to Elrond that Legolas would soon be returning to consciousness.

Standing, Elrond went to the window and pulled the drapes closed as to prevent the light from blinding Legolas when he woke. Elrond had dealt with head injuries before, after all, and he knew that oftentimes, bright light made everything a hundred times more difficult to deal with.

Returning to Legolas' bed, he was pleased to find that Legolas' eyes were slitted open.

"Hello, Legolas," said Elrond brightly. "How do you feel this morning?"

It was the question he always started out with his patients. Often, if a patient could report on their own condition, he found it was a good judge of how severe the wound was. However, his optimism, so recently lifted by the sight of the conscious elf, took a severe downturn when Legolas looked at Elrond with a faint touch of panic and asked,

"Who are you?"

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* See chapters 3 and 4 of my story, _The 100 Themes Challenge! _for full details about what happened!


	4. I have no memory of this place

I know, that was absolutely EVIL of me to leave it there for so long! Mwahaha... read on! Thanks to** JaydeRayne** and** Leo-firefly ** for reviewing.

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**Dreams Are More Precious**

_by Caelhir_

_Chapter Four_

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"Who are you?"

Elrond froze as he heard the question. Twinges of panic flowed into him as he realized that Legolas was in no state to joke around. The injured elf was serious. Turning back to Legolas, Elrond put on a reassuring smile and made to speak, but Legolas beat him to it.

"Where am I? What happened to me? What have you– Ai!"

He had made to sit up, but fell back with a cry at the blazing pain in his head. Elrond made to move forward to help, but Legolas shouted at him.

"Stay back! Get away from me!"

Elrond froze in place, and slowly backed away. Legolas kept one eye on the elven lord as he slowly propped himself up in his bed. He closed his eyes, seemingly to steady himself, then opened them and surveyed the Healing HAlls without so much as a trace of recognition.

"Where am I?" he demanded. Elrond sighed.

"You are in Imladris, Legolas. Do you remember nothing that has happened to you?"

Legolas faced him with a suspicious look on his face.

"What do you mean, 'what has happened to me?' Why does my head hurt so terribly? And why would I remember anything that's happened? I haven't been doing anything!"

"What have you been doing recently?" Elrond asked, hoping to gain insight as to how far back Legolas' memory loss went. Legolas narrowed his eyes.

"The affairs of Greenwood are no business of yours, and I will not tell you anything!"

Elrond realized that Legolas thought he was being held prisoner in some unknown location. He decided to go get Erestor and Glorfindel. Perhaps Legolas would recognize them. He turned to leave. Legolas called after him.

"Where are you going!"

Elrond turned back to the slightly panicky elf on the bed. "I am going to get two of my friends, Glorfindel and Erestor. I will be back momentarily."

Legolas nodded suspiciously. "Go then," he said arrogantly, "but I will not tell them anything about Greenwood's defense either, Noldor."

Elrond was surprised by Legolas' attitude, but left nonetheless. He felt confident that Legolas was in no condition to go anywhere, and with that, he set off to find Erestor and Glorfindel to help him convince the prince that he was no being held prisoner.

_/\/\/\/\_

Legolas slumped back against the pillows, holding his head in his hands, when the other elf left. He didn't know how on earth he had gotten into this predicament, but he was determined to escape.

Or at least, he _would be_, but for the raging headache he was fighting. Had the strange elf drugged him? Was that how he had been captured? He growled in frustration as his memory failed him. He settled down and thought back to the last thing he remembered.

Slowly, the memory of riding through Greenwood with his patrol mates came to him. They had been heading to the northern part of the forest, a routine path to check on the borders and their kinsmen at the rafts. He remembered getting there, and then turning to go go home, but after that, his memories halted abruptly. He received no more time to ponder the mystery of his capture as he heard thumping footsteps outside his door. He sat up, looking around for something to use as a weapon. He grabbed an empty pitcher standing on the table next to his prison bed and readied himself for the fight.

The door burst open and three elves came thundering through. Two looked identical, their brown hair whipping behind them and their blue eyes regarding him in what he thought was relief. The third had silvery blond hair and soft hazel eyes, and seemed to see the hostile look that Legolas gave the new arrivals to the room.

The identical elves gave cries of surprise when Legolas whipped the pitcher at them and darted away from them towards the window at the end of the room. The third elf gave no cry but followed Legolas, much to his chagrin. He threw open the window, his head pounding fiercely, and surveyed the drop to the ground. It was only two floors, about twenty five feet. _No problem._

He crawled onto the ledge and turned to face the third elf, the one with silvery hair. He had raised his hands in a neutral way, and was slowly advancing.

"Legolas," he said, "don't jump, please. What's wrong?"

Legolas gave a derisive snort, his head throbbing fit to burst.

"What's wrong? Oh nothing, unless you count my captivity!"

The other elf looked utterly bemused, but had no opportunity to make a reply as the door opened for a second time.

Three more elves walked in as Legolas made ready to jump. The first one he had spoken to was there, along with a tall, strong-looking elf with bright golden hair. The other looking stern and scholarly, dressed in a long deep blue robe. The first elf (whom Legolas had figured out was the chief behind his capture) looked up, saw him on the window sill preparing to jump, and gave a shout of alarm. The golden-haired elf saw Legolas on the sill as well and raced forwards.

Legolas jumped.

He heard the others' cries of "No!" as he did, and as he plummeted to the ground, he gleefully thought one thing:

_Freedom!_

He hit the ground and felt a sharp pain in his leg. Crumpling into a heap, he lay on his side for a moment gathering his strength, willing his head to cease its infernal pounding.

After a moment more, he pushed himself to his hands and knees and shook his head slightly as a wave of pain and dizziness assailed him. He used a tree to pull himself up the rest of the way, but nearly fell down again almost immediately as his head pounded furiously. He took a deep breath, and to his horror, heard running footsteps. Looking up, he saw the six elves from his prison room heading his way across a grassy lawn. He sucked in a breath, and stood again. He made to run away, but crumpled with a cry of pain as his leg shocked him in pain and folded beneath him.

As the six elves surrounded him, he closed his eyes in defeat.

_I'm sorry, Father, _he thought miserably as they lifted him onto a stretcher. _I'm sorry. I'll hold out as long as I can, I swear. They won't get Greenwood's secrets from me!_

_/\/\/\/\_

Glorfindel helped Elrohir lift Legolas onto the stretcher they had brought with them form the Healing Halls. A thousand questions buzzed in his head, each more pressing than the last.

What was Legolas up to? What was going on? Why had he jumped from the window? Glorfindel picked up one end of the stretcher and Elladan took the other, and together they carried Legolas back up two flights of stairs to the Healing halls. Legolas was silent the entire time, staring at the ceiling, pain filled eyes fixed in a defiant way.

Once Legolas was settled in the bed, wrists bound to the bars of the frame of the bed to prevent him from running again (though Glorfindel thought that was unlikely, as Elrond had taken one look at the prince's leg and pronounced it broken), Glorfindel pulled Elrond to the side as soon as the healer was finished tending to Legolas' broken leg.

"What in the name of Ulmo's underpants is going on around here?"

Elrond raised an eyebrow at Glorfindel's unusual choice of words, but answered him nonetheless.

"Legolas woke a while ago. He doesn't know where he his, who we are, or what happened to him. His condition is worse than I thought. Oh," he added, as though remembering something, "and he also thinks I've taken him prisoner and that I intend to question him regarding Greenwood's defense system."

Glorfindel stood in stunned silence for a moment, not entirely sure if Elrond was having him on or not.

"He– he doesn't remember _anything?"_

"Not a thing, but I can't determine how far back the memory loss goes. I'm hesitant to question him, because he thinks he's a prisoner, as I said."

Glorfindel shook his head in disbelief.

"What do we do with him?"

Elrond sighed.

"I'm not entirely sure. I had to drug him rather more heavily than I'd have liked to, given the condition of his head, but I had to set his leg; he's broken it quite badly. I'm simply a little concerned, to be honest. The dosage I gave him sent him straight to sleep. It shouldn't have, though; it wasn't particularly powerful, but I will need to thoroughly examine his head at some point. We can see how he is when he wakes." Elrond ran a weary hand over his eyes. "I've _never_ seen anything like this, not even when Lindir fell off the roof last year when he was– What exactly _was_ he doing?"

"I believe the twins moved the entire contents of his bedroom up there," said Glorfindel, recalling the strange sight of a bed and various other pieces of furniture just lounging around on the roof of Imladris.

"Ah yes," said Elrond, smiling at the memory. "And do you remember what Elrohir and Elladan did to him even _after_ he fell and finally woke up after nine hours of you, Erestor and I thinking we were going to lose him?"

Glorfindel chuckled. "I do. The twins used his memory loss to their advantage, did they not?"

Elrond smirked as well. "They certainly did. They convinced him that he was actually a trained monkey escaped from a Haradrim circus."

Glorfindel laughed. "That was not amusing at the time, as I recall, trying to convince the poor thing that he _wasn't_ a monkey, and that he _couldn't_ actually hang from chandeliers by his tail!–"

"–Or that he couldn't actually do backflips off of the balcony! Valar, I remember coming in the room and he was standing there by the window with the twins, who were clearly egging him on–"

"Speak of the devil, Elrond," said Glorfindel. Lindir had stood from Legolas' side and made his way over to Glorfindel and Elrond. He looked suspiciously from one to the other as if he suspected that they were talking about him.

"Lord Elrond, Lord Glorfindel," he said formally, shooting them both suspicious looks. "I believe that Legolas is close to waking."

The two lords exchanged a final laugh, causing Lindir to look positively faint with trepidation ("What have I done this time?"), and headed over to Legolas' side.

Lindir was right; Legolas was stirring slightly. Elrond pulled his sons away and asked Glorfindel to make sure that all but Elrond stood back a distance. Elrond was not sure that Legolas would be able to remember anything else, even his own failed "escape" from the window.

Legolas cracked open his eyes, then shut them again very fast. Elrond leaned closer to Legolas.

"Legolas?" he asked quietly. "How are you feeling, _penneth_?"

Legolas opened his eyes again, looking around himself vacantly, and tried to move away, but the bindings on his wrists gave him pause. He stared at the bonds in a blank way, as if he didn't quite understand them. He looked back at Elrond.

"Why am I tied down?" The question was not innocent; Legolas was clearly upset. Elrond tried to calm him.

"Do you remember anything now?"

"What do you mean, _'now?' _What happened? Why am I here, and who are you?" His eyes were wide and frightened. "Am I a prisoner?"

It was as Elrond had feared. Legolas remembered nothing at all. He felt he should ask again, just to make sure.

"Are you sure you can't remember anything? What are your last memories?"

Legolas pulled frantically at the bonds holding him. "Please," he begged, "let me go, I've done nothing wrong!"

Behind Elrond, Elrohir's heart was twisting with pain for his friend. Legolas didn't recognize _anything! _He didn't know _any _of them! Next to him, Elladan picked up on his brother's feelings, for he shared them. The brothers put their arms around the other's shoulders and stayed that way as Elrond assessed Legolas' condition.

Elrond turned to Glorfindel.

"Will you give us a moment?" Glorfindel nodded and nodded to the other three elves. Elrond stopped Lindir and called him back.

"I'd like you to stay here a moment, Lindir, if you please."

Lindir looked apprehensive. "Of course, my lord."

The others left, and Elrond turned back to Legolas, who was still half heartedly tugging at his bonds. Elrond placed a hand over Legolas', causing the other to jump slightly and turn away, bewildered confusion still in his eyes. Elrond turned back to Lindir.

"Will you make a calming tea, please? You remember how?"

Lindir nodded. Elrond had taught him how to make the special tea when Lindir had injured his own head last spring falling off the roof of the house. He wondered if that was why Elrond had wanted him to stay.

Elrond was questioning Legolas quietly now.

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

Legolas glanced at him. "Six."

Elrond frowned. "_Penneth,_ I don't have six fingers on one hand.

"Oh," was all Legolas said.

Elrond sighed. If Legolas was seeing double, Elrond would have to give him a thorough examination. For now, he decided to move past the fingers question. He hoped dearly that Legolas would be able to remember his next question. If not, there were more serious problems to confront that having six fingers on one hand. "What's your name?"

Legolas looked at him, a hint of indignation crossed his face. "Why do you need to know that?"

Elrond smiled in relief. That was the Legolas he remembered. "I am trying to find out how badly you've injured your head."

Legolas frowned. "My head? What's wrong with my– ouch!"

He had tried to sit up, but fell back as his head throbbed painfully. He looked at Elrond with a piteous expression. "What happened? And who _are_ you?"

Lindir returned at that moment with the tea, and Elrond gratefully accepted it. "Here," he said kindly, "drink this. I think you'll feel better. I'll help you," he added, as Legolas tried to pull at the bindings holding him fast.

Legolas drank the teat quietly and laid back against the pillow, closing his eyes. He was weary, weary beyond belief, and simply wanted to rest for just a moment, and figure out how he had gotten here and why he was here. He wanted to know _why_ he couldn't remember anything that had happened, for he knew that _something_ had happened to him. He just didn't know what. Yet.

Elrond saw his patient slipping into slumber, and leaned forward to gently shake the elf's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, _penneth,"_ he said quietly, "but I can't let you sleep yet."

Legolas opened his eyes, sighing heavily. "Why not?" he asked dully, weariness etched in his voice. Elrond smiled sadly.

"You have a nasty concussion," he said, "and if you fall asleep, you might not wake up for a very long time, if at all."

Legolas felt as though that would not be all together unpleasant. _Sleep,_ he thought happily, and closed his eyes again.

"No, _penneth," _said Elrond more firmly, shaking Legolas again. The younger elf hissed in frustration and turned his head away from Elrond, who sighed. Leaning to the side, he undid the bindings on Legolas' arms, freeing him from the bed. With Lindir's help, he sat Legolas up and watched as he opened his eyes, a mutinous expression on his face. Elrond smiled gently.

"I'm sorry _penneth," _he said yet again. He knew he had to do an assessment of Legolas, and decided that it couldn't wait anymore. Facing the younger elf, he began to ask simple questions.

"Do you know what today's date is?"

Legolas frowned, then said, "January, isn't it?"

Elrond raised his eyebrows. It was mid-July. He shook his head but continued asking the questions.

"What happened to you?"

"I've already said: I don't know!"

"All right, all right, calm down. What is your name?"

"That's ridiculous. I'm Legolas!"

"Very good. Now, are you feeling all right?"

"My head hurts and I want to know what's going on here!"

Elrond nodded. Legolas had answered two of the four questions. He had no memories of the accident, and nothing of the date.

Turning to Lindir, he said quietly, "Keep him awake. I'm going to get the twins and they can help you. But," he paused, looking sad for a moment, "you might have to re-introduce each other to him. I truly believe he doesn't remember any of us."

Lindir nodded and turned back to Legolas. Elrond sighed and stood, heading to the door.

Once there he turned back to the two elves. This was going to be quite an interesting recovery.

/\/\/\/\/\/\

Yes, it most certainly is. Mwa ha ha.


	5. I Recall The Places

**Hey folks! I know it's been, er, months since an update, but this is it for DAMP, so hopefully I can work on finishing _Someone Said Goodbye,_ and then start on the four stories I've got plotted out! Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all those who have stuck by me even thoguh I'm busy and a random updater!**

**/\/\/\/\/\/\**

**Dreams Are More Precious**

_by Caelhir_

_Chapter Five_

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As soon as the door closed behind the elf lord, Legolas put his head in his hands and began to think. Hard.

He strained his memory. It hurt his head, but that couldn't be helped. The last he could remember clearly was going out on patrol in Greenwood. He thought that they had been heading to Laketown, to check on the next delivery of Dorwinion. He strained his memory but nothing came to him. It was as though a chunk of his recollections had literally been taken from him.

Finally, Legolas gave up trying to remember anything past his patrol in Greenwood. It was a useless attempt that only serve to make his head ache more furiously.

He closed his eyes and brought forth a memory of his father on the night before Legolas had left for his very first scouting mission, when he was still a very young warrior and not allowed on patrols yet. In Greenwood, both male and female elves were trained to fight, and they were trained early and intensely, all becoming warriors by, if not before, their coming of age. Greenwood needed her sons and daughters in the battle against the Shadow.

Legolas thought of his father sitting in the armchair across from him in the halls of their home. He had said a lot of things that day, but there was one thing in particular that Legolas was looking for.

_"Legolas, if you're ever separated from your patrol, you'll have to take a moment to assess the situation. Think of these things: What do I have? How can I use it? How does that help me get what I need? If you can keep a calm head and concentrate on the task at hand, you'll be all right. You'll be all right..." _

Oh, how he wished he was all right now. Legolas' head was pounding and aching fiercely, and the elf sitting next to him was looking at him in some concern, but Legolas ignored him. Legolas started with the first piece of advice his father had given him.

_What do I have? _

He had a headache and a sore leg. Legolas had noticed his leg was aching ever since he was woken up. Beyond that, he had no knowledge of this place, and no idea how to escape, though his certainty at the fact that he was a prisoner was waning.

_How can I use it? _

He couldn't walk, and so, couldn't run. His head pounded, and his leg ached fiercely. He had no plan, and no memories of these people or this place.

_How does that help me get what I need?_

_It doesn't_, Legolas thought wearily. _It doesn't help at all. What I need to just get out of here, and I _can't_ do that!_

He reclined against the pillows, his vision swimming sickeningly. He pressed a hand to his head, not quite managing to stifle a groan or pain at the steadily increasing pounding in his head. He heard the other elf move and tried to raise his head, but instead, his body slumped alarmingly.

He heard a shout, and hands were on his shoulders, and a voice was invading his sensitive ears. He turned his head away and felt himself being laid down flat on the bed. Try as he might, his eyes refused to open, and though the voice was calling to him, this time joined by others, he could not have responded even had he had the desire to do so. His mind slipped away and he knew no more.

_/\/\/\/\_

"He's unconscious again, isn't he?"

Glorfindel spoke flatly, regarding Legolas' prone form with some irritation. Elrond sighed and nodded. He knew not for how long the elf would be out this time, but if the next time he woke up was to be anything like the first...

"Should we tie him down again, Ada?" asked Elladan, gazing at his friend with some concern. Before Elrond could answer, Elrohir jumped in.

"Ada, please examine his head! I want to know if our friend will ever know who we are! What's _wrong_ with him?"

Elrond held up a hand to silence his son's increasingly frantic words.

"Elrohir, head injuries are tricky. For now, there is not very much that I can do. I will go and examine his head, if he lets me get close enough, that is."

"Why don't you just drug him so he'll be quiet?" Elladan remarked carelessly. Elrohir glared at his brother.

"Because," he said, sounding impatient, "if he did that, Legolas would never wake up! Haven't you ever worked in the Healing Halls before? Ada will have a difficult time waking him as it is now!"

Elladan looked properly abashed, and Elrond heaved a sigh.

"I will check his head. You two, leave, please," he said to Elrohir and Elladan. He turned to Glorfindel. "Mellon-nin, I will need your help."

Glorfindel nodded as the twins stalked out of the Halls, throwing murderous looks over their shoulders. Lindir moved in closer as Elrond met his eyes.

"Lindir, help Glorfindel wake him up. I am going to need to check his state of awareness."

"I think his state of awareness would be, 'unconscious,' my lord," said Glorfindel sarcastically. Elrond rolled his eyes as he went to wash his hands and prepare his examination.

Glorfindel and Lindir succeeded in waking Legolas, who appeared to be coming out of a long deep sleep, though it had been only minutes since he had fallen unconscious. That gave Elrond great relief. If Legolas was waking almost-normally, it was a positive step on his way to recovery. Elrond stepped over, motioning Glorfindel and Lindir to the side. Elrond sat on the bed next to Legolas, pulling the blankets away from Legolas' broken leg.

"This appears to be doing well– this far, anyway. Do you remember why you broke your leg, Legolas?"

"Sort of," came the hesitant reply. "Have– have I fallen anywhere, my lord?"

Elrond heard Glorfindel give an audible sigh of relief. "Yes," Elrond answered, smiling, "you have. Out of that window, right there." He pointed.

Legolas' eyes followed his hand and found the window, a moment of confusion and doubt crossing his face before his expression cleared and he nodded.

"Yes, I remember that." He winced. "Painfully."

Lindir laughed despite himself. Legolas looked around, an almost panicky look crossing his face now. It seemed that his memory was returning in chunks, and Lindir hadn't been one of those chunks. Lindir's face fell as he saw the blank, unrecognizing expression on his dear friend's fcae.

"Nothing?" he asked quietly.

"No," Legolas said, sounding said. He buried his hands into his eyes, frustrated. "I'm sorry. I feel like I should know you, I really do, but I just– just– _don't!" _

He hated feeling like this, weak and lame and like someone else knew more about him than he did. Elrond (Legolas remembered that name, of course) stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Legolas tried to soothe his pounding head as he rested his fists over his eyes. The memories and names were _there,_ of course, but it seemed that they were locked away behind a door that he could not break through. He squeezed his eyes against the pounding in his head. He heard the other elves leaving the room, heard voices and finally, the door shutting quietly.

Legolas didn't know how long he sat there, heels of his hands pressed into his eyes in quiet frustration, but when he looked up, it was to a dark room lit by no light. He slid himself off the bed and half-walked, half-limped over to where several candles stood unlit. The best term for his new gate would be "flopping." He lit the candle and moved to the window, where he stared at the sky.

Twinkling stars winked at him, causing an unexpected pang of sadness and loneliness to pass through him. Why didn't he remember who these people were?

He sighed and closed his eyes, and as he stood, leaning heavily on his good leg, he allowed his memories to explore, to delve into locked passageways and rooms that he could not consciously access.

_Shouts... tumbling rocks... children... pain in his head..._

_Lindir was ahead of him. Legolas ran as fast as he could to follow, for there were rocks crashing all around them..._

Legolas shivered and his mind cast ever further back into the recesses of his memories...

_...A patrol, he was laughing with Elrohir and Elladan. Glorfindel and Lindir chuckled as well..._

Farther into memory...

_...A village of men, torn by a tragedy..._

He kept going.

_Caves._

Legolas shuddered again but allowed his mind to tell him what had happened.

_A rock wall, children trapped behind it, fell down as frantic fathers rushed in to grab their children. Legolas heard the shifting groans of a cave-in, and heard himself tell the men to get out..._

_The scene shifted suddenly. He was turned around, going back _into_ the cave-in. _

Stop!_ he wanted to shout at himself,_ you're going the wrong way! _But he kept going, and soon, he saw why._

_One child had been left. Legolas picked up the boy and found Lindir again, and the three made their way out._

_Again, the pictures changed. Legolas was running again, but with an unexplainable sense of doom hanging over his head. Quite suddenly, he felt a blinding pain in the side of his head and darkness fell..._

Legolas hit the floor without really feeling it, causing the table on which the candles sat to crash to the ground as well. He lay there stunned, looking up at the stars. He _remembered!_

The door opened and lights were lit. Voices flew over his muddled head. He was too exhausted from his memory-walking to call out, to tell them that here he was, lying hidden behind the bed under the window.

Finally, they found him, and Legolas finally knew who "they" were.

Glorfindel turned and shouted, and Elrohir and Elladan came to help him. Lindir stood watching, and Elrond was entering the Healing wing as they moved. Legolas could do nothing but stare blankly until they laid him down and Elrond moved forward to check his state.

"I remember." he said quietly.

Elrond smiled and pointed at Glorfindel.

"Who is that?"

"Glorfindel."

"And those two?"

"Elladan and Elrohir, my lord."

"And him?"

Legolas squinted through the shadowy room to note the look of sad expectation on the elf's face. He smiled.

"Lindir, my good friend."

Lindir's face crumpled with relief and happiness. Elladan and Elrohir whooped with joy, and Glorfindel passed a hand through his hair, looking slightly shaky.

"You remember the caves? THe village? The children?" Glorfindel asked. Legolas nodded.

"I remember it all. Well, apart from the time I was unconscious. I assume I was hit on the head?"

Elrond nodded, and asked him a few more questions before pronouncing him fit. However, he cautioned Legolas to take it easy for a while, until he felt fully healed. Legolas agreed willingly.

Two weeks later, when Legolas finally told Elrond that he felt all better, the whole of Imladris was thrown into a state of frantic partying. Glorfindel and Lindir arranged for wine and food, while Elrohir and Elladan organized a night-long celebration.

As the party went on, Legolas looked around himself and, with full appreciation of how much he was loved, realized what a terrible thing it would be to forget your friends and family. He drank his wine, content to relish the newly reclaimed memories of good times with his friends.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Hooray, finally complete! Leave a review, please!


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